Battle Hearts (Storm MC Reloaded 3)

My smile for her is huge. Andrea has been a godsend for me and, in a short time, has found ways to give me some breathing space at work. “I really appreciate that.”

“I put a copy on your desk to look at.”

“Thank you. I’ll go take a look now.”

I leave her and head to my office, eager to see what she’s come up with. I’m trying to find someone to replace Juanita, but not having a lot of success. If Andrea’s suggested roster is workable, it’ll take a load off my mind.

I’ve just sat at my desk when my phone rings and I’m excited to see Winter’s name on the screen. Answering the call, my belly flutters when his face appears. It amazes me that this still happens after all these years.

“You got my voicemail?” I say, wishing I could reach out and touch him. My eyes greedily trace the angles of his face, taking in features and lines that I committed to memory a long time ago. God, he’s only been gone five hours and I miss him so much already.

“Yeah.” He smiles. “Tell me the good news, angel.”

I lean back in my chair, relaxed thanks to my visit to the clinic and this call. I give him a blow-by-blow of everything that happened and then say, “I’m starting the next lot of injections tonight.”

“At the usual time?”

“Yeah.”

“Call me while you do it.”

“You’re busy with King. I’ve got this.”

His features turn serious. “I mean it, Birdie. Call me. I wanna do this with you.”

“Okay, I will.”

He glances at something in front of him and then comes back to me. “I’ve gotta go. I’ll be waiting for your call tonight.”

I put my fingers to my lips and kiss them before pressing it to the phone screen. “Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

With that, he’s gone, and I feel all kinds of happy. He might be gone for the week, but I know he’s thinking of me throughout his days. I feel loved, and that’s all anyone needs to get through hard moments.

It’s been a long day by the time I call Winter that night. I got through a stack of admin work this afternoon, which was good, but I’ve had a pounding headache since lunchtime, so that wasn’t fun to deal with. The Advil I’ve taken is helping but not completely easing it. I try to push the pain to the side during our call, because I just want to enjoy the time we have to talk.

Winter seems on edge, though, when he answers the call. Not with me, but with whatever he’s got going on with King. He doesn’t say anything, but I can tell. This is how he comes home from his days sometimes—tense and somewhat detached. I can also see the exhaustion lining his face, and it worries me. This whole trip worries me, but I’m tryin

g not to think about that.

“How are you?” I ask.

He scrubs a hand over his face. “Tired. You?”

Winter can be a man of few words when it comes to questions about him. It frustrates me a little because I’m looking for a whole lot more than that simple one-word answer. I don’t say anything, though. I let it go and hope he’ll share more as the conversation progresses. “I’ve had a headache all afternoon, but besides that, I’m good. Excited.” I eye the motel room he’s sitting in. “What are you guys doing tonight?”

He leans back against the chair. “Fucking nothing. I’m gonna watch some TV and pass out with any luck.”

“Did you get everything done today that you needed?”

“Yeah.” The image on my screen wobbles as he shifts in the chair and then he comes back into view. “You ready to do this shot?”

I rest the phone on the coffee table next to the chair I’m in, angling it so he can see me, and grab the needle. “Tell me something else about your childhood that I don’t know.”

We’ve started doing this while he administers my injections. Winter was trying to take my mind off it one night and came out with this random fact about his childhood that I didn’t know. I loved learning stuff about him so much that I’ve asked him different things about his life each night since.

He thinks about that for a moment. “Max was always the one getting into trouble growing up. Mum used to take to him with the wooden spoon far more often than she did to me.”